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New product claims on packaging show HFCS as a lower priority

A consumer research study by Mintel, Chicago, a global supplier of consumer, product and media intelligence, indicates that high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is one of the least frequent claims for new food and beverage product launches. According to new data from Mintel’s Global New Products Database (GNPD), out of more than 20,000 food and beverage products launched in the U.S. in 2011, “no HFCS” claims only accounted for about 400 new product introductions, or only 2 percent. Some of the most frequent health-focused on-package new product claims were “Low/No/Reduced Fat” and “Low/No/Reduced Calories,” which were used two to four times as often as “no HFCS.”

The results align with a separate consumer study conducted by Mintel that shows HFCS to be a low priority when grocery shopping, with 4% of consumers indicating they were looking to avoid HFCS, and 3% indicating that they were reading labels for it.

For 2011, topping the list was “kosher,” which appeared on 27% of new products, more than twice as often as the second most common claim, “all natural product.” Rounding out the top five were “no additives/preservatives,” “low/no/reduced allergen” and “gluten-free.” Near the bottom of the list was “no-High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS),” which appeared on 2% of product introductions.

“New product introductions in the U.S, across all categories, usually total more than 20,000 in most years,” says Lynn Dornblaser, director, Innovation & Insight at Mintel. “Those with ‘no-HFCS’ claims only accounted for about 400 new product introductions in 2011, or only 2%. By comparison, they’re a very small part of the market.”